BREAKING | Plea In Supreme Court Seeks Removal Of Vijay Shah From Ministerial Post Over Col Sofia Qureshi Remarks

Congress Leader Dr Jaya Thakur has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking removal of BJP Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah from the ministerial position over his remarks on Colonel Sofia Qureshi during 'Operation Sindoor'. 

Colonel Sofiya Qureshi had become the face of 'Operation Sindoor' after she gave press briefings about the military operations carried out by the Indian Air Force against Pakistani terrorist sites.

However, Vijay Shah courted controversy by saying at an event, "Jinhone humari betiyon ke sindoor ujade the… humne unhiki behen bhej kar ke unki aisi ki taisi karwayi" [Translation: Those people (terrorists) who had wiped out the sindoor (vermilion) of our sisters (in the Pahalgam terror attack)...we avenged these people by sending their sister to destroy them].

The plea filed by Thakur under Article 32 seeks removal of Shah from the ministerial position on the ground that he violated the oath taken under Article 164(3) of the Constitution. 

Notably, the third schedule of the Constitution lays down the forms of oaths or affirmations to be made by those holding constitutional offices. 

As per the petition, the statement made by Shah ignites separatist feelings amongst the Muslim community and threatens the unity of India. It states,

"The statement of the minister that Col. Sofia Quraishi is the sister of the terrorist who carried out the attack at Pahalgam encourages feelings of separatist activities by imputing separatist feeling to anyone who is Muslim, which thereby endangers the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India. That speech is directly violated the oath prescribe under schedule 3 of the Constitution of India."

Specifically, the statement, as per the plea, is violative of Form V under Schedule 3, which provides : 

"I, A.B., do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, 1[that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India,] that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as a Minister for the State of ..........and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill-will."

The plea further stresses that such conduct is violative of the Apex Court's decision in Tehseen Poonawalla where it was held that hate crimes and communal violence are antithetical to the rule of law and constitutional morality. 

In Poonawalla's case, the Court recommended that the Parliament may create a special law against lynching, asserting that “fear of law and veneration for the command of law constitute the foundation of a civilised society”.

The prayer sought by the petitioner is as follows : 

a). Issue a Writ, Order or direction in the nature of writ of quo-warranto to remove the Respondent No.4 from the ministerial post and

b) pass such further and other orders which may be deemed fit in the interest of justice.

Notably, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta is already dealing with two petitions filed by Shah in relation to the issue.

On May 19, the bench directed that a Special Investigation Team comprising three senior IPS officers, who do not belong to the State of Madhya Pradesh, must investigate the FIR against the  BJP Minister. The Court also stayed his arrest. 

On May 28, the said bench continued its interim directions staying arrest of the BJP Minister. 

Case Details : Dr Jaya Thakur v. State of MP and Ors